Matthew 25:31-46 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
In this story the Son of Man separates the sheep who represent righteous people from the goats who represent self-centered humans, who predominantly live their lives for their own gratification. The sheep’s lives include involvement with the least in the world, the poor in spirit; these are people who are in need. They are materially poor and in need of help. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3) The main characteristic of the sheep is that they looked out for the needy in life. The goats functioned diametrically opposite to the sheep; they lived their lives in a self-absorbed way. They did not see the homeless, the starving, the thirsty, the imprisoned, those without adequate clothing. They saw only what they needed or wanted in life. The sheep were servants to others, especially to God. The goats organized their lives to fit themselves—they looked to fulfill their bucket list in life. They loved those who loved them or could reciprocate their love. Jesus castigates the lives of the goats. He is angry because they care about only their own concerns and the lives of people in their circle. In another place Jesus said, And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? (Matthew 5:47) People who know God should be a reflection of God on earth. They should be the salt of the world, bringing God’s love to people, especially those who are struggling in life. The goats are so blinded by the way they live that they do not see the struggles of people around them. They walk by the handicapped without even looking in their direction, as if the handicapped do not exist. They walk by the minorities without love, taking no notice of them as fellow human beings who need love and care. The goats willingly ignore those who are living desperate lives, who are losing out in life. They are comforted by their self-serving lifestyle, but the Son of Man is not satisfied with their lives. At the judgment seat, each person’s life is assessed by how she or he lived. Jesus separates them accordingly to what they did in life, how good they were to the downcast, the downtrodden in society. Were they sensitive to God’s will or to their own self-interests? The sheep are placed on his right side, the goats on his left. Those on his right side receive eternal life with the Father God, but those who failed to live as a refection of God’s love for all people will be placed on the left side of the Son of Man. The latter will receive eternal judgment away from God. The Son of Man came to restore man to God, to reveal the love of God through his sacrifice on the cross. His followers were to carry out this mission to the world by loving the world as God loves the world. But the goats saw this act of God’s love not worthy enough for them to change their lives. They would not be a love gift to the world as Jesus the Lord was God’s gift to the world.
The sheep represent people who are the “I will” people. They are humans who will display God to even the least in society—they are under the mission of God’s Spirit to bless the world. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25) People who are willing to keep in step with God’s Spirit in good times and in bad times are those who consistently do the will of God. They are servants to God; this requires consistently loving people. Often people substitute the requirement of loving others by participating in spiritual exercises, such as going to church, reading the Bible or even praying. All good things, but not necessarily very profitable in helping the destitute make it through life. We see in the scripture very harsh words for those who are spiritually intense, but fail to do the will of the Father. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23) We must assume these intense religious people were not doing the will of the Father. What is the will of the Father? We see it in the evaluation of the sheep’s lives. They fed the hungry, gave a drink to the thirsty, invited strangers to stay the night in their homes, put clothes on the naked, visited the prisoners. Otherwise, spiritual activity alone does not satisfy the will of the Father. Yes, they are good, for Jesus prophesied, cast out demons, and performed many miracles. But Jesus functioned as a servant of God at all times. All of his actions evolved out of God’s love for people. Jesus was nailed to the cross because of God’s love for mankind. Jesus paid the price for mankind’s waywardness from God. Spiritual activities of men might be emblematic of true love for mankind, but they also might be indicative of self-will, the desire to be magnified among men, to accrue a special place of importance in the eyes of people. But a true servant of God has no desire for aggrandizement in his lifestyle; he is just a servant to fulfill the Master’s will. In serving the least of these in society, a person is sacrificing for others, to make their lives better, not his own. The sheep represent this kind of living, all of which brings God’s blessing.
The sheep are the blessed ones who follow God determined to reveal him to the world by helping the needy. “You are the salt of the earth.…“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (5:13-16) A self-absorbed life does not reflect God’s glory, his love for his creation. Such a life can only reflect man’s nature that existed before and after the flood: The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. (Genesis 6:5) Man chafes under this description. He shakes his fist heavenward, wanting to believe he has a better nature. Of course, we see mankind do wonderful things, but there is a rebellion that cannot be satisfied even by good works. In every way, he is struggling with God about this identification. But Jesus came to eliminate this rebellious nature to God’s will. What is God’s will? That all men be born again and display his nature to the world. The sheep are the ones who clearly reveal God’s nature to the world. They are not in the body of the goats; they are sheep, not goats! They have a different nature, one compliant to God and his will. They are sensitive to the hungry, the naked, the thirsty, the stranger, the imprisoned. The goats do not even see these people. They are so unaware that they say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ As goats, they lack ears to hear and eyes to see. They need to be transformed. We who are sheep should take on the sheep’s role: help people survive in a wicked world. The least of these need help to survive. We cannot say to them, go be comforted. To be a sheep requires action. Action-less is a characteristic of goats. As Jesus taught, Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. The merciful, the pure in heart will see God; they are placed on the right hand of the Son of Man. These are the people who bring peace to the troubled, the losers in society. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (See Matthew 5:3-10 for the Beatitudes) We who are sheep have the Spirit of God within us. He sees the lonely, the heartbroken, the sad. His ministry is to be in each of us, not just in our spiritual leaders. To heal the broken lives of others is everyone’s ministry. If our focus is on anything else than the people of the world and their struggles, we are in the skin of the goats and not the sheep. This breakfast is a challenge for all of us, for the world becomes too much a part of our daily journey. We blend into the form of the world way too easily. But the word of God, bends our will to God’s will if we are faithful servants to him. Therefore, the chosen around this breakfast table know this: As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:12) Clothe yourself with the brightness of the wool of the sheep; be easily seen as God’s servants for all of mankind. Just as Christ died for all mankind so must we serve God with this goal before us.
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